Flashbacks
by pasteldragonink
Summary: Kotoko didn't die from an illness, as everyone is lead to believe. No one, however, was expecting her death and Haruhi's fears to be connected! Explore the memories of the dreadful day, and how Haruhi has dealt with them.


_"Kotoko! Wait up!" a familiar voice called out from behind her. She turned around, to see her loving husband behind her. The lawyer smiled sweetly at him, causing his heart to pump just a bit faster. "My love, you almost forgot your lunch!" Kotoko's eyes seemed confused for a moment, before she saw a small wrapped up lunch. Being in such a rush in mornings, what with Haruhi and her father to take care of, she had completely forgotten herself._

_"Oh, thank you! I can't believe I forgot about that," she exclaimed, plucking the package from his soft hands, slipping it into her work bag. Ryoji seemed a little surprised she'd forgotten something, but recovered rather quickly. "We couldn't have our favorite lawyer starving, now could we?" he joked. She just let out a bell-like giggle, nodding. A sudden movement caught her eye, and she saw a very sleepy-eyed Haruhi behind her father. "Dear, what are you doing up? It's barely 6:30 in the morning!" Kotoko exclaimed. The small girl pouted up at her mother. "You didn't say goodbye to me.." she said, eyes portraying her sadness. _

_Kotoko just smiled, bending down to pick up her baby. "You looked so beautiful asleep my dear, I didn't want to wake you up!" she said, tapping her on the nose. Haruhi giggled, all hints of sadness gone. "Now, you two children, I have to catch the bus! I love you both," she kissed each of their cheeks, "and I hope you have a great day. I laid out your clothes Haruhi," the busy mother said, taking a slow breath once she was done speaking. Both other members of the family nodded, as the daughter was set down. "Bye you guys!" she said, heading out the door. Smiling, they followed her out to wave her goodbye._

_"Man am I lucky.." Ryoji murmured under his breath, watching her figure walk towards the bus station. Luckily for them, there was one just in front of their apartment complex. The pair had only just turned their backs on her, when they heard commotion. There was a gasp, then a muffled scream. The father's head whipped around, to see a man dressed in all black, with a gun pressed against Kotoko's temple. She was struggling, but it was no match against the buff man. He whispered something in her ear, before pulling the trigger rather roughly. Ryoji didn't even have time to scream her name, before she fell to the ground. _

_With the unfortunate luck that the bus station was empty, no one could stop the man from simply dropping her and running. Ryoji all but bound over the railing, running to her side. It was no use, it was a clean shot through the brain. Tears streamed down his face, his heart tearing into a million pieces. Haruhi's eyes were wider than ever, the sound of the gun shot ringing through her mind. It reminded her of a thunderstorm..._

-X-

The sky was darker than it had been in months. The other Hosts hadn't noticed, as they were busy entertaining the guests, all but one. Haruhi eyed the dark sky, knowing what was coming. The male imposing female gave off a faked loving smile to the girls that currently surrounded her, explaining that she would have to finish some chores. They all looked terribly disappointed, but understood. As she stood, they scattered to find someone else to amuse them.

Noticing a large disruption, Kyoya looked up from his laptop. His eyes followed her, until she arrived to him. "Kyoya-senpai...it's rather dark out," she murmured. The girl was a bit ashamed of her fear, and always hated having to request to leave. She never asked for someone to come with her, but one of the twins, or Tamaki ended up with her. All three however, were very wrapped up in the girls, not noticing her.

The black-haired man peered out the window, eyebrows furrowing. He had been so wrapped up in his work, he hadn't noticed. "I understand," he simply said, keeping it formal. The scared girl slipped past him, cheeks pink. As silently as she could, she creaked the large back room door open, then shut. She took a deep breath, trying to steady herself out. Sooner than she had anticipated however, a crack of thunder was heard. The girl froze, eyes wide. Before the second could be heard, she dashed forward, grabbing blankets. Kyoya always made sure that there was a few heavy blankets, as well as an iPod full of her favorite music. Not that he had ever asked what it was, of course. She barely reached the closet, when the second strike hit. '_The storm must be right over us!'_ Haruhi whimpered in her mind, dropping to the floor. The girl managed to crawl to the closet, opening it wide enough to get the music. Her hands were shaking so bad, she could barely put the big headphones on.

Soon, but never soon enough, the music was flowing through her ears. It made it a bit easier to unwrap the blankets, and get herself somewhat comfortable. However, since the storm was directly above them, the building shook with every strike. Haruhi could feel it, and it certainly didn't help the situation. The blankets were pulled tighter around her, trying her best to take deep breaths. With every shake, it reminded her of her terrible fear.

-X-

_Ryoji pulled out a cellphone, calling 911 immediately. He explained what happened, and gave a rather accurate description of the man, before he lost his image forever. His entire body was shaking, tears streaming down his cheeks. His hand grasped her cold one tightly, hoping that some how, she'd open her eyes, and scold him for hurting her. All that happened, was he kept squeezing. _

_It was mere minutes later, the police force showed up, along with an ambulance. After forcing Ryoji away from the body, they managed to take pictures of the scene. A few other cars were sent to scan the surrounding area, to try finding the man. Suddenly, like a lightning strike, Ryoji remembered Haruhi. He stood, running to her side._

_The girl hadn't moved an inch since the whole thing went down. She was just staring at her dead mother. The blood pooled around her, oddly placed limbs as she had fallen. "Mom," she whispered, watching. Ryoji watched her intently, worried she had gone into a state of shock. "Can someone help my daughter?!" he called out. _

-X-

"Haruhi?" a voice called out into the dark room, unable to see. The host hadn't heard him, as her headphones cancelled out most of the noise. Slowly shutting the door, the voice's owner pulled out a smartphone, to guide him. Haruhi opened her eyes, seeing a bright white light. Once the man found her, he half-smiled to himself. He dimmed down the brightness, and turned it to himself, so she knew who he was.

Kyoya shuffled over to her, bending over. He opened the blanket on her right side, sitting right beside her. The girl watched him the best she could, feeling him next to her. It was a bit odd at first, but after another rumble, she pressed her side into him. After a moment of that, Kyoya wrapped his arms around her, pulling her up into his lap. It shocked Haruhi, but she didn't let it show. Instead, she embraces the action, pressing her side into him. The lanky man pulled the blankets tight around her, slowly rubbing her side.

He decided to come to her aid, as the other's seemed so wrapped up. Sure, he had work to do as well, but he always did. That, and he found he rather liked being with Haruhi. They didn't talk much, but when they were the last two in the room at the end of the day, it was comfortable. She reminded him that there was a world outside of his work, which he sometimes seemed to forget.

**_'Crash!_**' A teacup shattered outside the door, a result of a particularly loud boom, probably startling a guest. It startled Haruhi as well, whimpering into Kyoya's chest. He tightened his grip on her, on hand still massaging her side. The pair stayed like that for at least half an hour, before no more thunder could be heard. Suddenly, Haruhi whimpered again. By this, Kyoya was confused. There wasn't any shaking, no more thunder, so what was causing her hardship?

It soon dawned on him that the poor girl was asleep, and it was a nightmare that caused her discomfort. His hand moved from her side, to the back of her head, stroking her short hair. It wasn't long before the poor girl woke up with a yelp of fear, looking around widely. Her eyes soon fell to The Shadow King, taking in his presence. She pulled the headphones off, a look of pure sadness in her eyes. "Haruhi.." he said quietly, trying to be as comforting as he could. "What happened?"

She found his eyes in a moment, staring for a short second. Then, her eyebrows were pushed together, but not in confusion. Haruhi was trying to prevent herself from crying. She never cried in front of anyone, not even her father. It showed weakness, something that she just couldn't afford. Not when she had to be her own mother from the age of 5 and up.

"My mother.." she whispered, before all the emotion she had held back broke free. Tears began to stream down her cheeks, and drip onto her uniform. Kyoya was stunned, he had never been in that position before. He didn't have a clue as to what to do, or say. Of course, he would never admit that, so he began to wing it.

A hand rose to her cheek, cradling it. He could feel her lean into it, the tears flowing harder. His other arm pulled her closer to his body, gently rocking her. "Hush Haruhi, everything will be alright," he murmured, only knowing it was something about Koyoto. Haruhi continued to cry and whimper, trying her best to compose herself. It took her around 10 minutes to finally stop crying. Kyoya had been trying his best to calm her, rocking and whispering soothing things in her ear. Once the tears stopped free-flowing, he ran his thumb under her eyes. Haruhi wouldn't even look at him, she was too embarrassed. First she had to ask him if she could go cower, then she bawled in front of him.

"Would you like to talk about, her?" he asked her, keeping his voice smooth. He didn't want her to feel like he was requesting it, but more of an option to make her feel a bit better. Haruhi took a deep breath, only a few small hitches in her breathing. She started slowly, but began to tell him the truth of what happened to her mother. To everyone's belief, she died to an incurable disease. In reality, she had been murdered in cold blood.

The news of this ran Kyoya's blood cold. He had never heard of such things from Ranka, even when the topic of Koyoto came up. He always told the young male that she died due to said illness. Why would they hide such a thing? "Did you ever, find the man?" he pressed, his curiosity taking over. She looked up, slowly shaking her head. "The only thing that we know..was that the man was somehow related to a case she'd won.." she mumbled. It suddenly made sense to Kyoya. A revenge stricken civilian, on the successful lawyer. The concept appeared in fiction frequently, but the fact that it was carried out into reality..it hurt Kyoya's heart to think about.

His hand moved from her cheek, to the back of her head, slowly caressing. "I..I'm sorry Haruhi," he murmured, not sure of what to say. The girl shook her head, wiping her eyes and cheeks. "Don't apologize. You weren't him.." she muttered, a hint of anger in her voice. She wasn't angry at him, however, but herself. She didn't show emotion like that to people, especially not Kyoya. Haruhi always felt as if he were judging her, so she generally tried to stay on the happier side of the scale.

A soft knock was heard, the door creaking open. Since the storm had passed, the room had lightened considerably. Haruhi was still on Kyoya's lap, curled up in the blanket that was around them both. Her eyes were red and puffy, making it obvious she was crying. "K-Kyoya?" Tamaki asked, a bit surprised to see his best friend there. Kyoya looked up at him, his face just as stony as always.

"Yes?"

"What are you doing here with Haruhi? Why is she crying?!" he said, voice growing angrier. Kyoya rolled his eyes, continuing to hold Haruhi. "I was here to aid her, while all of you were entertaining guests," he said, with a bit of a cold tone. Tamaki paled, jumping to his depressed little corner. The pair just shook their heads at the 'King'.

"The storm's over," Kyoya announced after peering out the window. Haruhi took the hint, and began to crawl off of him. He tightened his grip on her for a moment, pulling her closer. "I'm sorry," he whispered, pressing his lips against the top of her head. Her cheeks burned, eyes widening. Before she could react however, he let her go. She slowly stood, straightening out her uniform. Kyoya followed suit, folding up the blankets.

"Thank you Kyoya-senpai.." she said quietly, wiping at her eyes. After the wardrobe was filled with the blankets, and the iPod charging, The Shadow King turned to He pulled out a handkerchief from his pocket, wiping away a few tears she missed. Without another word, he tucked it away, and left the room. Haruhi blinked, confused as all hell. What just happened with him? He never showed that much emotion, or even caring that much.

Slowly, Haruhi walked out of the room. She was shocked to find the room was empty, bar the hosts. "Where did the girls go..?" she asked. Hikaru stepped forward. "It sounded pretty bad in there.." Kaoru followed suit, "so we figured it was time to close early." The girl frowned, rubbing at her puffy eyes again. The twins developed a sad look on their faces, embracing her in a three-man hug. She just kind of stood there, feeling a bit awkward.

"Uhm, guys? I'm okay.." she mumbled, pulling away from them. Her back was turned on them before she could see their reaction. The realization that she actually cried in front of someone really threw her off, and made her rather irate. "If we're closed, I think I'll leave now.." she requested, glancing up at Kyoya. He didn't say anything for a long pause, then let out a short nod. "B-but Haruhi-chan! We haven't had cake yet!" Honey complained, before a hand was put on his shoulder by Mori. He simply shook his head. Haruhi sighed, dropping her head as she left the room..

"Mommy...what happened in there?" Tamaki asked, his voice still sad.

**OHHHHH yes it's kind of a cliffhanger. I'm not sure if I want to make a part two, or if I'll just keep it like this. I'm happy with it though, and I hope you guys are too! Please rate and review, and leave any suggestions below :)**


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